Best Credit Building Apps - Improve Your Credit & Boost Your Score (2024)

Building a better credit score is a goal shared by millions. Whether you’ve been rejected for a loan or want to secure the best rates on a future mortgage application, you may be taking steps to build your credit.

Downloading a credit improvement app to your smartphone could be the first step to building a better future.

But, you need to make sure you choose the right credit score improvement app.

While there are many options on the market, here are ten of the best credit building apps that can help you transform your financial situation from the palm of your hand.

#1. Ava

You can boost your credit fast with the Ava app. 74% of Ava members see an improvement in their credit and credit score in less than 7 days! And, it is the highest rated credit building app out there.

The app gives you a high-limit credit builder card and account that you can use to pay your everyday bills. This helps increase your score quickly, and improves your credit utilization score. The credit limit is actually $2,500 which is significant.

You use the card to make payments and then Ava drafts the money from your connected bank account to cover it. Payments are then reported to the credit bureaus, improving your credit history.

Another feature is the Save & Build Credit Account which helps you save money at the same time you boost your credit. You make monthly payments to your Save & Build Credit Account and then after 12 months, get all the money back.

Best of all, the credit app doesn’t require a credit check, interest or fees! And, it reports your history and payments to all three credit bureaus.

This is a credit builder program you should sign up for if you are serious about improving your credit.

There is a monthly plan payment required of $9 if you pay monthly or only $6 if you pay annually. But, the price is well worth it in exchange for improving your credit.

They also provide you with a personalized step-by-step plan to lower your debt and even save money on debt.

When it comes to credit building apps, Ava is our top recommendation. Click here to download it and get started.

#2. Kikoff

Another app to build your credit with is called Kikoff. There is no credit check to use it and they will give you a $500 line of credit to use.

Kikoff will also report your payments on the credit to the major credit bureaus. There are two different pricing plans. The plan is only $5 a month! Very affordable way to improve your credit. Kikoff is a close tie with Ava for the best app to build credit with.

Apps like Kikoff improve your credit throught these factors:

Payment History: This makes up 35% of your score. The credit account and credit builder loan both help improve your payment history.

Credit Utilization: This is 30% of your score. Adding the line of credit or loan will lower this ratio which is better for your score.

Account Age: 15% of your credit score is determined by account age. You can keep the line of credit open to continually boost your credit.

Credit Mix: This accounts for 10% of your credit score. Using credit builder loans and credit from apps like Kikoff helps your credit mix.

Download Kikoff and get started today!

#3. ExperianCredit App

The Experian app is one of the most popular credit improvement app options on the market, not least because it is one of the most recognizable. It provides free credit monitoring services and your free credit report.

You will get a free monthly report with the app that gives you insight into your credit score, usage and balances. The website states that this free credit app helps you protect, understand and improve your credit.

What makes this a good credit building app is the fact that is is actually from one of the 3 major credit bureaus. Who can be a better expert than that? You get free credit monitoring with alerts.

Experian is actually one of the best free credit building apps because you can use Experian Boost with it to instantly raise your credit score. Experian Boost gets you credit for monthly payments you make like utilities, rent and insurance.

The app includes a paid, premium version for $9.99 a month or at $24.99 per month for the Credit Works credit builder program that provide additional features.

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• How to Boost Your Credit Score

#4. Self Credit

Self Credit is one of the apps that helps you build your credit by providing a credit builder loan that sits in an interest bearing account. You then make monthly payments against that loan and your payments are reported to the three major credit bureaus.

Once you’ve paid that credit builder loan off, you will have a better credit score and get all the money back! It is like a savings account with benefits. And there is no credit check!

Self provides several credit building features. They also have a Self Visa credit card as well as the credit builder loan and offer rent and bills reporting to the credit bureaus.

There are several tiers of service and monthly plans form $25 a month to $150 a month depending on what you want and how big of a loan you would like.

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Tradeline Supply Company: Purchasing a tradeline is fast, easy and will raise your credit score.

Boost Your Credit

#5. Pave

Pave’s credit improvement app works with all three major credit reference bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion), which instantly makes it one of the best apps to help build credit and monitor it.

Plus, it has one two awards! One for “Best Credit Building Product Provider” and one for “Best New Personal Finance App.”

It provides a clear look at your credit report, along with actionable advice on how to boost your score. It even keeps track of your monthly bills and reminds you when upcoming payments are due.

The credit builder account actively boosts your score by reporting your monthly payments to all 3 credit agencies. Best of all, the the credit app extends a line of credit to you, which improves your credit utilization, a big factor in your credit score.

The Pave mobile app is available in two packages, Lite which is around $6 a month and Plus, which is about $11 per month. It features a user-friendly design and easy navigation and is available on iOS and Android.

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#6. Credit Strong

This is one of the credit apps that provides a savings account you make payments into and it helps build your credit.

One of the advantages of CreditStrong is that they offer loan amounts as high as $10,000, which is even more helpful for your credit.

They have an easy to use dashboard where you can see credit updates and they even have a business credit option if you are a business owner.

Even if you have bad credit, you can leverage CreditStrong.

They have 3 different plan options, each with different dollar amount options depending on what you want to do:

Revolv: Does not include making monthly payments but still improves your credit utilization and builds revolving credit for you.

Instal: This plan gives you installment credit and a savings that you make low monthly payments into with their credit builder loan.

CS Max: If you don’t have good credit, but you do have cash on hand you can leverage this plan to build credit with larger, and longer term credit builder loans.

#7. MoneyLion

I really love the name of this credit app! Credit Builder Plus from MoneyLion will help you improve your credit situation.

It includes all the usual benefits of credit monitoring and monthly reporting. With their credit builder loan, you get the money in hand from the beginning and don’t have to wait as you do with some credit builder programs.

And, there is no hard credit check involved. Cash advances are good to have! Membership plans start at $19.99 a month. They provide you with personalized tools, tips and offers to control money beyond just your credit.

They also have mobile banking if you want to use the banking side.

#8. Credito

The Credito credit improvement app is one of the best smartphone credit building downloads and not just because it has a great UX.

Like Pave, it actively builds your credit score through a 0% APR credit account it extends to you and that is reported to the agencies.

The standard credit builder app package gives the user a far clearer understanding of where their credit history stands and how it can be improved while the Plus+ plan guarantees a score boost and provides access to a personal credit coach.

It also uses your rental payments as a way to boost credit scores through payment history which makes it the ideal credit score improvement app for any prospective mortgage applicant.

At $13 or $25 per month, respectively, it can deliver actual results improving your credit and teach better financial habits in no time.

Another way to help your credit, is to opt for credit repair. Check out these 7 best credit repair companies!

#9. Credit Karma

While technically not seen as a credit card builder app or one that will actively boost your score, Credit Karma is an ideal free download for anyone who wants to see an indirect impact to their credit.

It is a credit management app that aims to help users form healthier financial habits and organically boost their scores over time. Just being aware of your credit through this app will help you boost your credit.

It is used by over 130 million users worldwide and also helps users find better credit cards or loans with lower APRs.

The help center also enables you to learn more about financial decisions and how to build a better financial future.

I use the Credit Karma app and like that I can see all my accounts and balances in one place. The only downside is it seems like they trying to sell a lot of things like new loans and credit cards to me.

They have redesigned the app in a way that favors these things, and has made it harder to find my account details and the credit information that I want to see.

#10. ClearScore

ClearScore lets you monitor your credit and is certainly one of the best credit builder loan app options on the market.

It gives you a weekly score update linked to your Equifax rating while also providing a list of both the positives and negatives on your account. It also shows a list of offers for credit cards, loans, and other relevant credit building products.

However, there are limitations to the app since some of the more advanced features are only included with the paid, premium version.

Still, as a free app to track your credit score on Equifax while gaining useful advice to boost your credit status, it is a worthwhile addition.

How do Credit Building Apps Work?

Credit apps can help you in more than one way. They help you indirectly by keeping you aware of your credit and on top of it.

They can alert you to any fraudulent accounts or issues with missed payments. Plus, they tell you your credit score which can help you stay on track if you have a goal to boost your score.

Some can help you more directly by providing a line of credit or loan and then reporting your payments. This boosts your credit both from positive payments and increasing your credit utilization.

Some credit apps only provide the monitoring services. If you really want to build credit, opt for one of the apps that also extends an account to you and reports payments.

Here are some of the services and benefits of apps that help you build credit:

Credit Reporting:

Some credit apps will actively report payments to the 3 credit bureaus which helps improve your credit. Experian Boost for instance, will actually report non-credit payments like rent and utilities to help you.

Credit Monitoring:

All of the credit builder apps provide you with credit monitoring services. They provide you with your accounts information, balances and current payment status anytime you open the app.

They will also alert you to any changes with your credit. And, they make suggestions to you on how you can raise your score.

Credit Accounts and Loans:

The best credit building apps will actually extend a line of credit, or loan to you. They then report your payments every time you make them to the three major credit bureaus. This also helps your credit utilization ratio.

Best of all, after making monthly payments for maybe a year, they will actually give you that money back. It was basically a loan designed to show positive payment history but not take the money from you.

Other Ways to Build Your Credit

The apps in our list are not the only tactics you can use to improve your credit! Here are a few other fast ways to build credit:

Tradelines and Authorized Users:

If you can get added as an authorized user to a friend or family member’s credit account, it can help boost your score.

If however this isn’t an option, you can get the same benefits by purchasing what is called a tradeline. You are just buying the right to be an authorized user on someone’s account. Their positive credit history gets linked to yours, and your credit score goes up!

We recommend purchasing them from Tradeline Supply Company. You can see the options online and easily purchase them. Just remember, the older the account the more benefit for you!

Credit Loans:

BadCreditLoans can help you get funds and then as you make payments, it will help your credit by adding positive payment history. You can also get a loan from them to pay off existing, high interest debt.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Credit Builder Apps Worth it?

Yes! These apps may seem too good to be true, but they really are effective in helping you build credit and boost your credit score.

Especially the ones that provide you with a credit line or a credit builder loan. Those will get you the most bang-for-your-buck.

Of course you are a factor in how well they work. You have to make your payments on time. If you miss payments or pay them late, it won’t help you.

What is the Best Credit Build App?

A lot of these apps have similar features and benefits. But our top choice is Ava and Kikoff which give you a credit builder account.

What Builds Credit the QUickest?

If you can pay down your debt, and thereby reduce your credit utilization ratio, it will help boost your score quickly.

Getting yourself added as an authorized user to a friend or family member’s credit account to leverage their positive payment history helps build credit quickly.

As does purchasing a tradeline (getting added to someone else’s positive credit line) from a company like Tradeline Supply Company.

Using one of these apps that provides a credit line or credit builder loans will also help build credit fast! Make sure they are reporting payments to the credit bureaus (most do.)

And lastly, if you have fraudulent issues or errors on your credit, hiring a credit repair company like Credit SaintorLexington Law will help your credit quickly.

Final Thoughts on Best Apps to Build Credit

Did you know that in the third quarter of 2023, total household debt rose to reach $17.29 trillion according to a study from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York?

That is a staggering number! So don’t feel alone if your credit score has dropped due to debt overload or missed payments. It happens to all of us.

The good news is there are many credit building programs and apps out there that can help you. Download any of these apps to improve your credit score.

Ava Credit App:

Ava: Ava is one of the best apps to build credit and our top choice.

Improve Your Credit!

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